From the kneeling supplicant on the front cover, surrounded by apostolic figures within an ornate cross, to the author’s Papal blessing on the back, this is the most pious yet of Demi’s profiles of our greatest spiritual touchstones. In a text that mixes specific biographical details with poems, prayers, and biblical passages, she follows Mother Teresa from childhood in what was then Yugoslavia to the inner call that sent her into a religious order in India. (She took her name from St. Teresa of Lisieux, “about whom it was said she did no great things—only small things with great love.”) Then the “call within a call” turned her from teaching to working with and for the poorest for the rest of her life. Demi caps her work with a long list of Mother Teresa’s international honors and a précis of current efforts to secure her sainthood that are likely to lose younger readers. And she illustrates with golden-framed art that, for all its characteristic grandeur and delicacy, fails to capture the squalor of the slums in which she worked, or to give immediacy to her day to day contact with the diseased and desperate. But her faith, her message, and the force of her personality come through with superb clarity. (bibliography, map) (Picture book/biography. 9-12)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-689-86407-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2005
A tighter focus would make this fascinating life story even more intriguing.
In this graphic memoir by sports journalist Shah, a ninth grader pursues his passion in the face of familial expectations pushing him toward a medical career, while also navigating the perils of high school social life.
It’s 1995, and Indian American Amar is desperate to meet the Chicago Bulls—Michael Jordan, in particular—when they stop by his Orlando, Florida, school. A lucky break leads him to his first sports interview, with Phil Jackson, and his tenacity takes him further, leading to multiple conversations with Shaquille O’Neal. But Amar’s luck in journalism doesn’t spill over to his relationship with his crush, blond Kasey Page (“like a mixture of Cameron Diaz, Tinkerbell, and heaven”), or his efforts to remain close with best friends Rohit and Cherian, who start spending more time with other classmates. The work relies on captions as much as plot developments to propel the story. It also follows a broad cast of characters—close and former friends, antagonists, supportive adults, and famous athletes—who appear in multiple storylines. The story accurately depicts the complexities of life as a young teen, though overlapping life challenges pull it in multiple directions, leaving some threads underexplored and hastily wrapped up. Doucet illustrates the characters using loose, disjointed outlines that give the artwork a sense of movement, and the colorful backgrounds use patterns and action lines to indicate a wide array of emotions.
A tighter focus would make this fascinating life story even more intriguing. (author’s note, photographs) (Graphic memoir. 9-12)Pub Date: Aug. 5, 2025
ISBN: 9781546110514
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 13, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Anchored by massive resource lists for adults in tiny type at the back, these 12 thumbnails attempt, not very successfully, to introduce to young or inexpert readers the idea of “multiple intelligences.” After suggesting that “smart” can mean more than scholastic excellence, the author proceeds to prove the opposite with a cast of professionals that mixes such non-household names as physicist/geologist Luis Alvarez, astronomer Annie Jump Cannon and botanist Ynés Mexía with the more familiar likes of Thurgood Marshall, Georgia O’Keeffe and I.M. Pei. Opposite stylized, expressionistic but still recognizable portraits from Qualls, he introduces each with roughly hewn, rap-style verses, followed by a single-paragraph career sketch. Though at the beginning he lists eight intelligences, such as “Body Smart,” “Logic Smart” and even “Nature Smart,” Nikola-Lisa never directly links any of them to his subjects; instead, he instructs readers to figure it out for themselves—without providing more than scattered, vague clues. It’s a worthy concept for creative types and other misfits to absorb, but the author doesn’t seem to understand it very well himself. (Collective biography. 9-12)
Pub Date: May 1, 2006
ISBN: 1-58430-254-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Lee & Low Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2006
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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